For research at various archives of science and astronomy and at Jain religious archives in India leading to a multi-part art project titled The Weather Inside Me. The project will trace the history of science, weather and solar observations in India from pre-colonial to post-colonial times. The religious archives will be referenced to investigate the centrality of the sun in Jainism and its resulting impact on time and memory in our lives.
For the sturdy of vintage educational film footage the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) archives, produced as part of the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) programme. This programme was established by NASA and ISRO in 1975-76 to impart a ‘modern and scientific outlook to rural India’. The fellowship outcome will be a symposium and, subject to availability of further funding from other sources, a film using the found footage.
For research towards a film on work songs, known as Li, sung by the inhabitants of Phek village in Nagaland. These work songs and chants have no lyrics but are vocalizations, grunts and sighs that are transformed into polyphonic melodies, while their music makers are busy harvesting paddy. This research is a part of a larger project to document and share everyday music and rhythms from across India.
For research into a shawl painting tradition from Nagaland called Tsungkotepsu, towards an examination of the visual, material and social cultures of the Naga tribes. The study of Tsungkotepsu, as woven form of expression, will enhance understanding of how traditions reinvent themselves by merging with ‘larger’ traditions to ensure their own survival. The research will result in a monograph,a film, and the creation of puppets inspired by Tsungkotepsu motifs.
For the research and documentation of printed images from popular Urdu literature produced in the first half of the 20th century, leading to the creation of a curated website. This project will examine when and why Urdu went from being a mainstream language reflecting the cultural plurality of North India, to one associated with Islam.
For research towards a book on the works of Kalam Patua, a patachitra artist. This project will trace his journey from a practitioner of the traditional painting of Patuas to his transition as painter whose work is displayed in modern art galleries, particularly after the revival of the Kalighat pat in the 1990s.
For research into the community tradition of kirtan singing through a study of five kirtan mandalis located in South Delhi. The project will focus on women’s mandalis, while exploring the dynamics of kirtans as a community performance and an arts practice. It will attempt to understand how gender, caste and socio-economic composition are reflected in the kirtan mandali aesthetics and how that in turn shapes the experience of community for its participants.
For research and documentation of the visual cultures of Northeast India, focusing on contemporary arts practices in Shillong, Guwahati and Silchar. The research will recalibrate the centre-periphery dichotomy that comes into play when engaging with the art history and practices of the Northeast, by looking at the ‘regional modernisms’ in the context of the North-East geographical and cultural affinities with South Asia and South East Asia. The project will result in an online archive, which will function as an alternative resource to supplement currently available pedagogies of art history and criticism.
For a series of performance art workshops exploring imaginative processes of performance-making. Held across different cities in the country, these workshops will result in several performance pieces, titled harkats. The performance-making processes along with critical conversations and reflections on performance art will be documented.
For research into the poetry of Malayalam poet Kadamanitta Ramakrishnan and the ritual folk performance form, Padayani, towards the creation of a new performance work. The resulting performance will try to combine Kadamanitta’s lyrics, the rhythms and theatrical expressions of Padayani—which the poet often used to accentuate and embellish his public performances—with the sound of rock, reggae and the blues.
For the fourth edition of a residency for six emerging choreographers from diverse dance backgrounds and regions. They will work with peers and mentors to develop individual pieces of work, which will be performed for the public at the conclusion of the residency.
For a three-month workshop to enable six young theatre directors from Assam to develop productions that critically engage with socio-political changes and cultural diversity in the region. Following this, the directors and their teams will tour to present the newly created performances in their respective hometowns and share their theatre-making experience with local audiences.
For the expansion of the workshops offered by an ongoing initiative to train young film enthusiasts and film and art students in the theory and practice of film curation. Also supported will be ancillary workshops and mentorship to provide conceptual and practical guidance to participants whose curatorial ideas have been selected for screening at a film festival.
For a three-month workshop to enable four young theatre directors from Assam to develop productions that critically engage with the socio-political changes and cultural diversity of the region. The directors and their team members will tour together to present the newly created work in their respective home towns and share their theatre-making experience with local audiences.
For research and the making of an animation film on the miniature paintings made in the Pahari tradition displayed at the Amar Mahal Palace, Jammu. The paintings tell the story of Nala-Damayanti and are based on a twelfth century epic poem called the Naishadiyacharita. The paintings will be studied alongside the corresponding verses of poetry.
